Portland Timbers extend contracts of Horst and Perkins

26-year old defender Horst made 16 appearances last season whilst 30-year old goalkeeper started all but five league matches and they have now been tied up for the upcoming 2012 campaign and beyond.

"I think that David, we've got to get him fit and healthy," Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said. "We need to address one or two things with David. But as far as getting him fit and healthy, I think once we do that we've got a player for the future. And David is a good age now. He's a very athletic, strong player and he fits well in this organization."

As for Perkins: "What we did with Troy is basically put him in a situation to be successful and also for the organization [to be successful]," Wilkinson added. "So we were able to restructure his contract so it didn't have such a large hit on the cap number. It was beneficial for him and for the organization."

About the author

Andrew Slevison is an avid sports fan, particularly of the world game. The Melbourne, Australia native, who has spent time living in London and travelling South America, takes a keen interest in the English Premier League and Major League Soccer and rates his best live footballing moment as the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.